Emergency transfer proceedure

[BiancaMoon]

Hello everyone, I am new here and this is my first post.
I've kept freshwater planted aquariums for about 15 years but I need your advice on best way to act in a emergency.
So far I never had an aquarium leak, but I also have a quite old planted aquarium with no filter, with a betta fish inside. All is fine but I am a bit paranoid person who likes to plan in advance, and not loose everything just because I am not prepared. I was wondering what would be the best procedure to transfer to another tank, if this tank has a leak.

I don't have other cycled tanks I could transfer, but I have a empty tank that I got as a hospital one. The active aquarium has no filter, and the medium is medium gravel, with aqua soil under it. In such tank beneficial bacteria are in the substrate, on the plants and in some degree on the sides of the tank. If there is a leak what would be the correct procedure:

1. Fill the hospital tank with the water from the aquarium and transfer all fish and plants.
2. Get a new tank the same day.
3. Set the new tank with the substrate from the old tank - as the substrate should not be washed and there is quite a build up of silt now in there, have 1 cm of new gravel on top.
4. Transfer plants. Put in at least 50% but better 80% of old water and add new conditioned water
5. Transfer the fish
6. Add beneficial bacteria
7. As a precaution have water changes 30% every other day for next week.

Do you think adding bio balls to the bottom of the tank now, to help if there is a leak in the future, is a good idea?
Is the plan I have OK?

Again I know it might sound strange to plan for a leak when so far I never had one, but it is an old tank and I think I should be prepared.

Thank you.

 

[Andy Sager]

By transferring as much as you can from the leaking tank to a new tank, you don't lose much. As for the tank not being filtered, that does not mean it's not cycled but if the pH in the water is below 6.0, nitrification is almost none existent and when below 6.8, ammonia is naturally converted to ammonium which is not toxic to fish unless in extraordinarily high amounts. Your plants will likely prevent that from happening. If the pH is under 5.0, there is no nitrification so no need to worry about a cycled tank.
As for #6 in your plan or adding bioballs, that will all depend on your current water parameters.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Moving your filter from your existing tank to the new tank would be the most useful thing you can do. If its a type of filter that cant be moved over, eg an all in one aquarium, then move the filter media to your new tanks filtration.

Keep the media wet. And oxygenated if you can.

Get yourself a good test kit so you can monitor water parameters and do water changes as needed.

Maybe get some tote boxes you can use as temporary accommodation, that will get you some additional capacity more than your hospital tank.

 

[BiancaMoon]

Thank you for your answers.
Aiken Drum I do not have a filter as I wrote in my post. That was actually my main concern because I know in situations where there is a filter its media will be enough to support a new tank with some more frequent water changes. In cases where there are few fish this is even easier.

I live in Montenegro and I have issues with some strange water test kits. Lately there is just this one for nitrates and nitrites and it always shows zero in my tank which is a bit strange and I don't trust it. I ordered some from Temu that had good ratings, one that covers multiple parameters including pH and ne for nitrites and nitrates. I know Temu is not the best place to purchase this stuff but it is my only choice at this point.

I stocked some drops with bacteria just in case and with the kits I think I will be more at ease.
It is more of a peace of mind to me, to just be prepared because I know if it goes down there will be no time to wait for a delivery or to run around looking for a good water test kit and ask questions then.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Maybe get a filter and run it in your aquarium then. Once its time to bring your plan into action, your filter will be cycled and you can then move it into your new aquarium.

Nitrites and nitrates being zero isnt all that surprising. The nitrogen cycle converts ammonia into nitrate with an intermediate stage. You only have 1 betta. The amount of waste 1 fish produces is negligible. Depending on the size of the aquarium, waste might simply not build up to detectable levels.

How big is your aquarium?

And its not inconceivable that the plants are just soaking up whatever waste your 1 fish produces and you have no nitrogen cycle whatsoever to worry about.

 

[BiancaMoon]

Hello,
It is 20 L almost halfway filled with plants. It was completely filled with plants but I have cut it back let it adjust and got the betta.

Now please let me explain my self because I know what every normal person would say.
Back in the day I had a 60L planted and stocked with fish. I had to move in to much smaller space and could only fit 20L. I opted for a planted tank with 5 neon tetras just to help with the waste. Pet shops here are not that stocked and I don't want to take ins something I can't handle if there are problems. All was fine, for several years, I've lost 3 neons in time, I went to the pet shop think of replacing the lost ones and I saw a betta. We don't get betta fish here a lot and this one was in an aquarium with like 50 xifo, no aggression from him but xifo were biting his fins. I just could not, it was an impulse purchase.

I got him here, ordered some indian almond leaves, got him settled. His fins grew back. He looks good. been getting some live food trough a friend, searched around to get some half decent fish food with insects in it.
I know the space is not big enough but I did what I did, I don't think he would make it long there. His anal fin was all crumpled, now it opened.

But having an old tank and I fish that is not so small and a leak would need some careful actions to stay healthy, it make me worry all again. Adding some photos of the setup and the betta after the fin growth, some clear fin can be visible still. He got a lot of iridescent blues back in also. So I suppose these are all good signs.

 

[Aiken Drum]

That tank looks to be acrylic. It will never leak unless its a faulty build. Acrylic is welded into a solid unit with no joints to fail, rather than having individual pieces of glass silicone bonded together, where the silicone can fail over time. Short of smashing it with a hammer it will last decades.

Over time it may go opaque as the surface gets scratched, if its cheap acrylic it may yellow over the years. But you will have plenty of time to plan for a replacement.

 

[BiancaMoon]

The front side is bent and all one piece but then the back is siliconed to a sheet. I suppose the bottom is also. It has top and bottom support all around it, and this is the reason I got this one for it to last as much as possible.
But I do tent to worry and plan in advance.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Silicone wont bond with acrylic. All you are relying on is the adhesion of suction between the silicone and acrylic, and thats a very weak joint.

As you are thinking about it anyway, I'd either get a better quality acrylic aquarium where all the joints are welded or a glass aquarium where the silicone can bond properly with the glass. You can plan everything then without it being an emergency.

 

[BiancaMoon]

Dear Aiken,

Before anything I would like to thank you because all of the time and great advice!
This is a pre purchased one, I suppose it might be welded not siliconed, or welded and siliconed over it. I see the joints back there have a covering over it, it is quite thick and rubbery.
But you are absolutely right. I should go and look for better quality aquarium and if possible even upsize a bit. And then transfer slowly and securely between two. I just have to plan a bit where to put the old one in the process.

 

[Aiken Drum]

If its already welded the silicone isnt really doing anything useful. I dont see why anyone would put a silicone seal over a solvent welded joint, except to cover up poor quality fabrication maybe. If its a silicone joint then its not likely welded as well, the manufacturer is just trying to save the cost of solvent welding.

Silicone should feel slightly spongy if you try and push a finger into it. What does it feel like?

I get to give you a professional explanation here which doesn't happen very often.

Glass and silicone have similar silicon-oxygen molecular makeup ups. This similar molecular pattern means they form very strong bonds with each other beyond what you get from adhesion using for instance glue. They mesh together, think of it like velcro where the silicone and glass hook together. If you ever take apart a glass aquarium you will find its easier to tear apart the silicone than it is to remove the silicone from the glass. The bond is stronger than the actual silicone.

This is used in building construction (my profession) to get those frameless glazed facades on high rise buildings.

This bonding doesn't happen between silicone and acrylic because acrylic doesnt have the same molecular structure. The silicone is working more like a glue when its used like this, and there are far better (but more expensive) solutions to join 2 pieces of acrylic.

Solvent welding uses a chemical process whereby the solvent melts the 2 pieces of acrylic, and the polymer chains mesh together. When the solvent evaporates it leaves behind a solid single piece of acrylic with no joints forming a permanent bond.

Comparing the cost of materials between glass and acrylic aquariums, along with the cost of silicone sealing verses solvent welding means that acrylic aquariums tend to be more expensive than glass, up to 5x the cost. There are other pros and cons between the 2 methods, but IMO if acrylic came down to the same cost of glass you would see a lot more acrylic. Particularly very big aquariums are better and more cost effective in acrylic.

 

[BiancaMoon]

Well my test for water finally arrived.
pH is 7.7 to 7.8
Carbonate mg/L 120
Hardness mg/L is 250 too high but I am unsure how to help this. We have very hard water in the country in general.
Nitrate and nitrite I have tested with 2 different tests both showed no color, so 0 or very very low.

Tomorrow I await shipment of betta food, I have been feeding high protein pellets that I don't trust all that well and complimenting with grain moths and tiniest mealworms.

Fingers crossed all goes well and we have good years ahead.
Aquarium replacement at the end I think should be done in emergency. Thinking about it for all this time I might actually mess things up, and the betta is doing very well anyway. Now it has the tank for its own as 2 neons were constantly nipping at his fins. I saw some circular damage, like small hole was punched out so I rehomed them. They were not hungry that is for sure as the little nightmares were eating two times a day.

 

[Andy Sager]

Well my test for water finally arrived.
pH is 7.7 to 7.8
Carbonate mg/L 120
Hardness mg/L is 250 too high but I am unsure how to help this. We have very hard water in the country in general.
Nitrate and nitrite I have tested with 2 different tests both showed no color, so 0 or very very low.

Tomorrow I await shipment of betta food, I have been feeding high protein pellets that I don't trust all that well and complimenting with grain moths and tiniest mealworms.

Fingers crossed all goes well and we have good years ahead.
Aquarium replacement at the end I think should be done in emergency. Thinking about it for all this time I might actually mess things up, and the betta is doing very well anyway. Now it has the tank for its own as 2 neons were constantly nipping at his fins. I saw some circular damage, like small hole was punched out so I rehomed them. They were not hungry that is for sure as the little nightmares were eating two times a day.

Commercially raised Bettas are not as particular for water parameters as wild Bettas will be. All labrynth fish, however you believe they came into existence, are tolerant of a number of water parameters. In many cases, how the water affects their eggs is why you may need to be more particular in your fish's water if breeding is your goal. I've bred the B splendens in everything from soft rainwater to Florida's rock hard, "perfect for saltwater and African Cichlids" hard, with no issues. So just keep in mind your hard water when/if you get any wild caught fish.